The Heart of Life
by AlohaBlackbird
Summary: Elizabeth loses her wedding rings and panics!


Elizabeth kept running her thumb over her bare ring finger in a panic as she wracked her brain trying to figure out what she'd done with her wedding and engagement rings. She'd called everywhere she'd been today and nothing. She was freaking out. She had no idea where they could have been lost. She paced back and forth in the house, internally scolding herself for losing something so important. Her rings, her beautiful engagement ring and wedding ring. Henry had put so much effort into picking out the perfect rings. He had picked a diamond set with sapphires because sapphires were symbolic of loyalty, faithfulness, and trust...trust...her beautiful husband had trusted her with her rings and she had lost them. What on earth was she going to tell him? She had called everywhere she'd been that day and no one could find the rings, not to mention she was pretty sure she had searched every inch of their tiny apartment.

She saw his car pull up and she held her breath until he walked in the door. She didn't think he'd be mad, he would never get mad at her over something like this. But she was anticipating him being stressed and frustrated. He'd worked hard for those rings and they symbolized their marriage. She hadn't intended on breaking down but the minute the door opened and she saw his beautiful smiling face, she absolutely lost it. She felt like she'd let him down.

She started to sob and Henry's face immediately fell. He tossed his bag to the side and ran over to her. He wrapped her in his arms and held her close. He felt his heart racing as he prayed silently that nothing was wrong with her, he didn't think he could take that.

He let her calm down enough and he kissed the top of her head, "Baby, what's going on?"

"Henry, I'm so sorry...I...I lost my rings."

He felt a huge breath of relief leave his body and he held onto her tighter and kissed her forehead. "Oh my god, baby I thought something was seriously wrong with you. Don't scare me like that."

Elizabeth looked up at him, flabbergasted. "That is something seriously wrong! I lost my rings, Henry! They're the symbol of our marriage and I lost them like a cheap pair of sunglasses." With that she started sobbing again.

Henry pulled her close once again and placed light kisses over her cheeks as he tried not to laugh. Her overreaction was simultaneously adorable and breaking his heart all at once. "Oh baby, no, please stop crying. The rings don't symbolize our marriage, _we're_ the symbol of our marriage. You and me together. The rings are just a statement. Our marriage is us, you could tell me you didn't want to wear the rings at all and I'd be fine with it. They're just metal and stone, they're not the heart of our marriage, that's us. So you lost them, it happens, that's what insurance is for. No use getting this upset."

Elizabeth looked up at him, tear still rolling down her face. "No, Henry, you worked so hard to get me those rings. Maybe they aren't the heart of our relationship but they matter. You picked out that beautiful ring for me, and that proposal, god it was so funny and so romantic all at once. I was so mad at you and I thought I was gonna be heartbroken forever and then you pulled that ring out of your pocket and told me how stupid you'd been and I'd never been happier in my life. Those rings Henry...they might not matter as much as we do...but they matter."

"Even if we can't find your old rings, we'll get you new rings and they'll still matter because they are still from me to you, they still symbolize the moment I realized I'd be the dumbest man alive if I ever let you go. I love you, Elizabeth. I don't care if you lose your rings on a daily basis, I mean if that started to be the case we might have to discuss getting you a _much_ cheaper set of rings, but I'll still love you more and more every day. You are my whole world, Mrs. McCord."

Elizabeth grinned, she hoped she'd always feel so happy when he called her that, and wiped away a rogue tear from her face. "You're my whole world, too. I love you so much."

Henry pulled her back into his arms, wrapping them around her small body and holding her close to him. She sighed in relief. He always made her feel safe. After a few minutes she pulled back, "Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

She turned to head into the kitchen praying they could muster up something edible since they hadn't been shopping in about two weeks, but Henry grabbed her hand and tugged her in the opposite direction. He nodded to their bedroom door and Elizabeth got the hint and blushed, "Oh, you're the _other_ kind of hungry."

Henry grinned and tugged her closer, "Yes, also there's nothing in the kitchen, I tried to scrounge up breakfast this morning and it was pathetic. How about we work up an appetite and then order a pizza?"

"You know _exactly_ how to romance a girl." She teased as she walked her fingers down his chest and pushed him backward toward the bedroom.

He swung the door open turned around and surprised her when he tossed her over his shoulder. She squealed and laughed as he walked them into their bedroom and tossed her on the bed. She giggled as she hit the mattress and grabbed ahold of his shirt as he kneeled over top of her. "Get over here, Captain McCord."

She pulled him down and their lips crashed together, his hands trailed down her sides and she shivered as they trailed across her abdomen and went to work at the button on her pants. He started to trail kisses down her neck and chest and yanked her pants off in a very unsmooth move that left them both laughing when he finally tossed them to the other side of the room. He kneeled on the floor and wrapped his arms around her knees so he could pull her closer to the edge. She hadn't yet removed her underwear and even so she still gasped when she felt his lips touch her center through the thin fabric.

She gripped the bedding underneath her, the soft fabric slipping through her fingers as she tried her best to brace herself.

Henry smiled as her body twisted as he moved his lips over her panties. It was a point of pride for him that he could make her feel this way without even taking off her panties.

"_Henry_", she moaned. She really wasn't in the mood for teasing tonight. She had been stressed out about her rings for the past five hours and she really needed to release this tension-not build up a different kind.

Henry smiled and hooked his fingers in her underwear as he slowly pulled them off her long legs and tossed them across the room. His mouth found her center immediately and she cried out as his tongue worked its magic in between her legs. She loved the way he curled his arms around her hips and gripped her body as he ate her out. His strong arms held her down just enough so that his mouth never missed a beat. He always knew she was about to come when she arched her back just enough to almost break free from his grasp.

He loved watched her, the way her lips curled in pleasure and the way her eyes slammed shut. Sometimes she had enough clarity to touch her breasts and he loved that. The fact that she wasn't afraid to go for what she wanted in the bedroom was such a turn on.

He stood up so he could watch her body writhe from the aftershocks of her orgasm. She was grinning and after a few moments her eyes fluttered open. She smiled up at her husband, "I'd make a quip about how proud of yourself you look but you should be proud of yourself, that was fantastic. Now get naked."

Henry laughed as he did as he was told and after he undressed he crawled over top of her. He pressed his body against hers and she moaned once again, she could already feel the heat rising in her body.

"Are you okay?" He whispered as his kissed her jaw.

She took a deep breath and nodded, she loved that he always asked and that he genuinely never minded when she needed more time to recover. She lifted her leg up and tapped his thigh with her own. "Turn over," she asked, her breathing still low and heavy.

He complied with her request and flipped her over with him so she landed on top of him. She giggled as she propped herself up and ran her hand down his cheek. She traced her fingers over his gorgeous jawline and she smiled down at him. He really was the best one.

She could feel him pulsing between her legs. She knew by now he was barreling towards uncomfortably hard and he more than deserved some relief.

She reached between them and the second her hand touched him his eyes slammed shut. She smiled, she would never get sick of seeing him react to her touch, nothing made her feel sexier. She pumped him a few times with her hand before he gently squeezed her thighs, he _needed_ her.

She positioned herself over him and gasped as she sank down onto him. She palmed his chest, balancing herself as she started to move above him. He finally managed to compose himself enough to open his eyes and he reached up to tug at her arms, "Come down here, I want to kiss you."

She felt her face get flush and lowered herself onto him. She couldn't move as well in this position but the angle change was heavenly and he picked up the pace with his own thrusts.

She loved being this close to him when they made love, their bodies pressed tightly together in every possible way made them feel almost like one person, as if she didn't know where she ended and he began.

His hand trailed up to her hair and he tugged at it as he picked up the pace. She moaned into his mouth and gripped his shoulders a little tighter. She came first and the way her body tightened around him was all it took for him to completely lose himself.

After a little while he turned to his side and she gently slid off him but snuggled right back into his strong arms. It didn't matter that everything was sticky and wet, this was the only place she wanted to be.

It was a few minutes later when she tapped him lightly on the chest, her eyes fluttering as she attempted to stay awake, "Order the pizza, Henry. Cheeseburger pizza."

Henry laughed and reluctantly pulled away from his wife to get to the phone, "Right away, baby."

An hour later they were lying in bed eating their pizza while still naked and sweaty, covered only by thin sheets.

"Do you think one day we'll be dressed up, fancy dinner people instead of naked, eating pizza in bed people?"

"I hope not..." he paused, "Wait, is that what you want to be?"

She contemplated the question for a moment, "I don't think so, but isn't that what we're supposed to be?"

Henry shrugged, "Who cares what we're 'supposed' to be. I love us, I love who we are together, I love what we bring out in each other." He turned to face his wife, "You are the only person whose opinion I truly care about."

Elizabeth shifted so she was now on her side facing him as well. "Yours too. I love you," she said as she leaned in to kiss him. "And I love eating pizza in bed naked with you. If we got all fancy we couldn't have pizza and I love pizza. And I really love being able to grab your cute butt." She reached over and squeezed Henry's butt cheek through the sheet. "I can't do that when we're in public. And you know we go out and get fancy sometimes. Sometimes is good enough for me."

He laughed and pulled her closer to him tucking his leg through hers as he wrapped his arms around her so she was as close as possible. "Using me for my body, Mrs. McCord? That stings a bit." He teased as his lips found the sweet spot under her ear.

She gasped and then groaned when he abruptly pulled away to take another bite of his pizza. She laughed as he made overly dramatic moaning sounds about how tasty the pizza was. Her mood soured though when she saw the ring on his finger and she reached out and touched it. "I'm still so mad at myself. I can't believe I lost my rings."

Henry reached back to wrap his arm around Elizabeth and pull her close. "Babe, stop thinking about it. It's going to be fine. Maybe they'll turn up. Either way, it's all going to be fine." He turned to kiss her forehead, "I'll just propose again if I have to."

Elizabeth blushed and snuggled in closer to him. "I love you." She bit her lip, "God, I'm going to show up at work tomorrow and people will assume we got in some massive fight and are getting divorced." Elizabeth lamented.

"People are stupid." Henry replied with a shrug.

His cavalier attitude made her laugh and surprisingly it also made her feel better. Henry was right, whatever they thought didn't matter. No one really knew what was going on in their marriage but them.

A little while later Henry decided he needed to go grab a washcloth to get some of the pizza grease off them. He wandered into the bathroom and upon finding no clean washcloths in the cabinet he looked around their tiny bathroom. He noticed one tucked in the corner of the tub behind the curtain and he grabbed for it. When he did he heard the distinct soft clank of metal hitting tile. He bent down, moved the shower curtain out of the way and smiled at what he found on the ground. He walked back into their bedroom with a huge smile on his face. "Hey baby, guess what I found?"

Her eyes lit up and she jumped out of bed and ran to him, "Oh my god! Henry!" She practically cried as he slipped the rings back on her finger. "Where the hell were they?!"

He chuckled, "They were on a washcloth on the edge of the tub."

She looked confused for a moment and then her eyes lit up, "Oh my god, I was going to clean the bathtub after I got home from my dentist appointment and then Isabelle called about work and I got distracted. Oh my god, I feel so stupid!" She covered her face with her hands.

Henry tenderly grasped her wrists and pulled them away from her face and he leaned in to kiss her. "You're not stupid, you're busy and you got distracted, it happens. Your rings are safe and sound and most importantly so are you."

She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. "I love you with all my heart, Henry McCord."

* * *

I hope this was a fun little read! I did this last year-thankfully my rings were found and returned to me-but I thought it would be a cute little story. Thank you so much for all the reviews on my last little story, I appreciate them more than you know! **Please take a minute to review this one as well! Thank you for reading!**

(Title is from the John Mayer song of the same name. It popped on while I was writing and seemed sort of appropriate.)


End file.
